Glenfarclas 15 Year

I recently did a tasting vertical of Glenfarclas 12, 15, 17, 21 and 25 along with the 105 NAS. I have full bottles of the 12, 17 and 105 NAS and got a sample set of the others to see what I was missing. My feeling is that I was not missing much. It seems like GF peaks at around 17-18 years with their production offerings. I suspect that any really good older barrels are being sold as single cask offerings. Not inexpensive as the 12-year old and not as complex or tasty as the 17-year old. There is nothing wrong with this 15-year old expression but nothing that stands out about it. It kind of makes me wonder about the Distiller score. I think this score like many was based on a much older release when the quality was much higher. It is certainly not bad but I would recommend getting the 17-year old or 105 NAS instead.

Standard delicato vaniglia cannella poca persistenza ma bell'odore

Today I'm missing my late grandmother who passed away two years ago. While she wasn't much of a drinker, a negligible amount of "schnapps" poured into her cup would elicit a cheeky "...what, are you trying to get me drunk?" with a big smile across her face. In the spirit of family, it makes my heart happy to know that Glenfarclas 15 is bottled at 46% ABV because it was their grandfather's strength preference of choice. Grandparents are special.  My first inhale of Glenfarclas 15 gives me a beautiful trio of apricot, butterscotch and chocolate. Orange marmalade, sherry and oak seep in later. This nose is sumptuous.  This single malt is rich, oily and the kind of medium gold in colour that nicely compliments their iconic yellow labeling. Mild sherried sweetness pairs with white pepper, inspiring a shiver down my spine. A light tannic transition takes me to a moderate, comparatively mellow finish laced with cocoa nibs, walnuts and oak . The nose is a perfume that I'd be fine to bathe myself in. I wish there was more transference of that aroma substance within its flavour as well. While I would happily sip this dram, it's hard to not feel wistful for the excellence of their 21 year old bottling.  7.5/10